Throughout history, humans have domesticated animals to serve many different purposes ranging from work animals to pets. Pet animals serve as companions to their human owners, providing important emotional exchange for their owners. The emotional support offered by pet animals helps to prevent their owners from becoming lonely or depressed, even if that owner is lacking in social interaction with other humans. There is a wide range of different animals which have been domesticated for service as pets. The two most common pets in the United States are cats and dogs. Cats are very solitary creatures for the most part. They enjoy attention and being petted and rubbed, however cats spend much of the day relaxing in a secluded area of the owner's house, often near a heat source. Dogs on the other hand are very active pets. They enjoy being near their owners as much as possible and they are very excitable. Most dogs thoroughly enjoy any kind of physical activity and need regular exercise in order for them to stay as healthy as possible. Dogs also enjoy being outdoors where their noses can capture and analyze a myriad of different smells. Because of these facts, most owners walk their dogs on a fairly regular basis.
The act of walking a dog usually involves the owner attaching a leash to the dog's collar and then walking along sidewalks or in a park. Most outdoor areas require the dog to be on a leash, ensuring that the dog is under the control of the owner. If the dog were to escape the owner, the dog may be in danger of becoming injured or may be a danger to people or other animals if the dog is aggressive. There are many different kinds of leashes which enable the owner to comfortably control the dog. However, even when the dog is on a leash, they can still escape sometimes. If the dog is very large it may be able to jerk the leash out of the owner's hand. Furthermore, if the owner holding the leash is distracted, perhaps in conversation with another dog owner, and the dog jerks suddenly, the leash may slip out of the owner's hand. In such a situation, the owner has lost control of the animal, and the animal is at a much higher risk of becoming injured, lost, or injuring others. All current leashes available on the market suffer from this issue, as it is more of an operator issue that a design issue. However, it is possible to solve the issue by introducing a secondary failsafe which would physically secure the leash to the owner.
It is an object of the present invention to introduce an apparatus which physically attaches the leash to the owner such that even if the owner drops the leash or the leash slips out of the owner's hand, the owner will not lose control of the animal. It is a further object of the present invention to ensure that the connection between the leash and the owner may be severed at a moment's notice should an emergency situation arise in which the owner may be injured if they remain attached to the leash. The present invention is designed to be attached to a human forearm, which allows the owner to bear the force of the dog pulling on the leash using their muscles as opposed to having that force exerted directly on the owner's joints. The present invention is usable not only with dogs but with any other animal that is walked on a leash such as trained cat. Although a cat may not be able to exert as much force to potentially jerk a leash out of the owner's hand, a cat would be much harder to recapture than a dog as most cats do not respond to vocal commands form their owners. Considering this fact, the present invention may be equally as useful for walking a cat or other small animals, ensuring that the owner does not accidentally lose the animal.